The Past Rivalry
by Inferno Fire Lord
Summary: Part 2 of 3. A rival from Zim's past comes to Earth, determined to get revenge.
1. Beginnings

Disclaimer: Zim belongs to Jhonen Vasquez, not me.

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An older model of an Irken personal vessel moved silently through space. A single Irken sat at the controls. He was relatively small, only slightly taller than Zim. His antennae were slightly longer than the average Irken's, and his eyes were a fierce blood red. This was Ked. Back in the academy, Ked had been fierce rivals with Zim. After a PAK malfunction had driven Ked to temporary insanity, he was banished from the Irken Empire and removed from the records. Ked, who had no memory of what had happened, blamed Zim for his exile and was determined to exact revenge.

Now, after training on Hobo 13 in preparation for his vengeance, Ked had at last traced Zim's location to a small backwater planet in a distant galaxy. As he neared the star system containing the planet Zim was stationed on, he grinned evilly to himself.

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Dib sat in his room, contemplating certain recent events. Ever since Zak left, not a single one of his infiltration attempts had succeeded. He needed something, anything, to give him an advantage against Zim.

Had he been looking out the window at the time, he would surely have noticed the streak of light across the night sky that was Ked's ship. As it was, he had no way of knowing that an old rival of Zim's was soon to arrive.

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Ked's ship flew over the city unnoticed. 'These pitiful life forms are completely idiotic' Ked thought as he scanned the area. He eventually came to a stop in the park, after finding a well-hidden cave to park his ship in. As he stepped out onto the ground, he chuckled evilly to himself. "Soon, Zim. Soon I will have my revenge." Ked let out an evil laugh strangely reminiscent of Zim's own.

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The next day, Ms. Bitters was off on another one of her famous doom rants. Zim was studying some blueprints for his latest plan, and Dib was in front of the class, once again trying to convince everyone that Zim was an alien.

"Come on, people! How is it that I'm still the only one to see Zim's an alien! I mean just look at him! He's got green skin and no ears or nose! His disguise is horrible!"

"Are you still going on about that?" asked Rob "He told you the day he got here that it's a skin condition."

Dib groaned and pulled on his hair spike. He was about to snap and go crazy again when Ms. Bitters shouted at him. "Dib! Sit down now!" As Dib went to sit down, Ms. Bitters addressed the rest of the class. "I just got off the phone with the principal, who has decided to bring in yet another new student. His name is…Ked."

Zim looked up from his blueprints at the mention of the new student's name. 'Ked…Why does that name sound so familiar?'

At that moment, the door opened and in walked a seemingly normal kid. His skin was slightly pale, his dark reddish-brown hair was neatly combed, and he wore a red shirt and black pants. He appeared strangely angry for someone who just arrived. His gaze instantly fell upon Zim. "I am Ked" he said. "Just stay away from me."

"All right, Ked, you'll need somewhere to sit." Ms. Bitters said. She looked around the room before she looked at Melvin, directly behind and next to Zim. "You! You're going to the underground classroom!" Melvin screamed as his desk dropped into the floor. The scream was instantly cut off as the desk rose back up empty. Ked immediately jumped to his seat and glared at Zim, who was watching Ked warily, still unable to shake that strange feeling of familiarity.


	2. Revelation

Disclaimer: Why do I always have to say this? Zim is not mine.

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By lunch, Zim had simply decided to ignore Ked and to just focus on his plan. Dib, meanwhile, was still suspicious.

"Gaz, that new guy is weird. He's always angry, and throughout all of class he didn't do anything but glare at Zim. I'm telling you, something's up. Ked knows something, and I'm gonna find out what. I'm gonna-"

Dib shut up when Gaz turned to glare at him. "Dib I'm on the last level of my game and if you make me lose because of your obsession with Zim or Ked or whoever, I'm gonna make sure you regret it for the rest of your delusional life." Dib shut up and went back to watching Zim.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a raw hunk of meat (which may or may not have been already decaying) sailed through the air and struck Zim on the back of his head. He screamed as the meat burned him, running around in circles. As he managed to finally peel the meat off, his first thought was, obviously, that Dib did it. He immediately jumped right at Dib, ready to tear him apart when another piece of meat struck him in the PAK, bouncing harmlessly off the metal device. Nevertheless, Zim instinctively turned around to see who threw _that_ one, and saw Ked, standing on the table, clutching yet another piece of meat in his hand ready to throw it. Dib noticed with mild interest that Ked's hand was steaming where he held the meat.

Zim leapt at Ked viciously, who dropped the meat in surprise. "Alright, what's the big deal! Who are you!" Zim shouted.

Ked grinned. "Why Zim, I'm surprised you don't recognize me, even after so many years."

Zim thought for a moment, then it hit him full-force. "YOU! Ked! From the academy! But I thought you were dead!"

"No, I'm not dead. I was exiled from the Empire thanks to you! I don't know what you did or how you did it, but I just _know_ that somehow _you're_ behind my banishment. And I swore I would get you back for that! So now, here I am, after finally having tracked you to this _filthy_ planet full of filthy pig-things, I am ready to finally exact my revenge and take from you the same thing you took from me all those years ago: your life! Prepare to die!"

And with that, Ked tackled Zim to the ground. Due to the fight being in public, neither Irken dared to use any technology. Ked was exceedingly vicious and pulled no punches. However, Zim had been trained by Zak, and had additional experience from fighting Dib, and so was able to gain the upper hand. He eventually managed to (just barely) pin Ked to a table while he reached over and grabbed some of the cafeteria sludge that no one knew the identity of. Ked kicked Zim off him and got up to tackle Zim again, but Zim took that opportunity to hurl the sludge at Ked. The glop hit Ked right in the face, who screamed in pain as the sludge immediately began to dissolve his exposed skin. Ked screamed in agony and fled the cafeteria, managing to shout "This isn't over, Zim! I will get you back!" before running out through the doors.


	3. Ked vs Dib

Disclaimer: Zim does not belong to me.

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That night, Dib was sitting at his computer at home, but was not paying any attention to it. He was still thinking about what had happened that day. Ked had thrown meat at Zim, and then had attacked him for seemingly no reason. Plus, Ked's hand had been steaming where he held the meat. Dib pondered the situation, the obvious conclusion evading him for some reason. Just then, Dib heard a scratching sound coming from his window. As he got up to investigate, the window smashed and Ked came crashing through. Needless to say, Dib was shocked, but he quickly got over it.

"Ked! What are you doing here? What do you want?" Dib asked in surprise.

Ked responded by leaning in close to Dib's face. "I couldn't help but notice that you and my nemesis hold each other with some disdain. I have this to say: Stay away from Zim! He is MINE to kill, understand? No one else!"

Dib glared at Ked. "All right, who are you? First you glare at Zim all day in class, then you attack him in the cafeteria, and now you're telling me that you alone have the right to kill him! I don't believe for a second you are who you pretend to be! Something's going on between you and Zim and I'm gonna find out what!"

Ked let out a low chuckle, which grew slowly into full-blown evil laughter. "Dib, was it? I must say, you are far more observant than the other filthy inhabitants of your miserable planet." Ked's holographic disguise faded away to reveal the real Ked. "Indeed you are right. Zim and I go back a long ways. He and I have been mortal enemies since before you even knew he existed. Zim is _my_ enemy, and _I_ am going to be the one to kill him, and I'll destroy anyone who stands in my way, including you if you continue to pose as competition to me!"

Dib continued to glare into Ked's blood-red eyes. "Look Ked, I don't know what Zim did to make you so mad at him, but now he's on _my_ planet threatening _my_ race. I have to stop him, for the sake of all mankind!"

Ked turned away. "I couldn't care less about the fate of your filthy race, Dib. As far as I'm concerned, you're just another obstacle standing in my way of finally destroying Zim, and I won't stand for it." Inconspicuously, Dib began to draw out the water gun he kept concealed in his coat – it had been meant for Zim, but now that he saw Ked was Irken (and, since he just got here, would have no defense against water), it would work just fine here. Unfortunately for Dib, Ked sensed what he was doing and whipped around, grabbing the gun right out of his hand. "Try it and I'll drop you where you stand" Ked growled, before snapping the plastic gun in two and throwing the pieces at Dib's feet. Ked climbed onto the windowsill, then turned back to look at Dib. "Remember this, human: Zim is _mine_, and I'll kill you without a second thought if you get in my way!" Ked's holographic disguise reappeared, then he leapt out the window and disappeared silently into the night, heading back to the cave he had stored his ship in.

Dib, meanwhile, was still standing in his room, shocked at Ked's viciousness, and at the seriousness of his tone. Then, it hit him that he'd just had an encounter with an alien _right in his own room_, and had failed to take any pictures. So he began banging his head against the wall, only to be answered with Prof. Membrane's voice calling out: "Son, stop thumping around up there! I need quiet to finish my latest creation!"

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Meanwhile, Zim was back at his base, still thinking about what had happened. Somehow, someway, Ked, his old rival from the academy, had returned. Not only that, but Ked had found his way to Earth, and was now intent on killing him. This was very different from Ked's usual style in the academy. When they were in training, Ked had simply been satisfied with Zim's humiliation, which he had achieved on a regular basis. Now, however, it seemed that Ked would stop at nothing less than Zim's utter destruction. Zim thought a moment, then called out: "GIR!"

"Yes my lord!" Gir shouted as he dropped in seemingly from nowhere, his normally cyan parts a brilliant red, indicating that he was in duty-mode.

"Gir we have a serious problem here. An old enemy of mine has tracked me to Earth, and I-"

"Dib?" Gir asked, fading back to normal.

"No. This enemy is far more dangerous than Dib."

"Tak?" asked Gir, tilting his head.

"I'm surprised you actually remember Tak, but no. It is my old archenemy from Invader academy, Ked. He is extremely dangerous and powerful, and he's out to destroy me. We have to do something about him, or the _whole mission_ could be destroyed! You hear me? The _whole mission!_"

Gir spazzed out, making random noises that only he could make, before running off, only to slam headfirst into a wall.

Zim groaned. "Why did I think you would be any help?" he asked Gir's limp, unconcious body, before turning to the computer screen to formulate a plan for what to do about Ked.


	4. Ked's Last Stand

Disclaimer: Zim is the property of Jhonen Vasquez.

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Zim smirked as he finished detailing the finishing touches on his plan for how to do away with Ked. Yes, it was sure to work perfectly. Such a simple plan, yet so elegant and surely highly effective. Zim allowed himself a low chuckle, which grew quickly into maniacal laughter. Beside him, Gir (who had woken up a few minutes ago) joined in, cackling insanely for no reason in particular. Finally, Zim suddenly cut in with a loud "BE QUIET!", silencing the small robot.

Zim turned back to the screen, ignoring Gir who was now beating his toy moose against the floor. "Computer! Conduct a scan of the entire city for any and all Irken life forms other than myself!"

There was a click and a faint hum as the computer obeyed. After a few seconds, the computer beeped and clicked again. "Scan complete. One match found. Irken is located in city park, in a cave on the north side."

Zim grinned. "Excellent. Upload the exact location into the Voot Cruiser's navigation system."

There was a click and a whirr before the computer announced the completion of this task. Zim grinned evilly. As he got in to the Voot Cruiser, he spoke softly: "This is your end, Ked."

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Ked stood in the cave by his ship, pacing back and forth. He was trying to figure out the ultimate plan to destroy Zim once and for all. An all-out assault certainly wouldn't work. As incompetent as Zim was (Ked had no knowledge of Zim's recent training by Zak and so still believed Zim was incompetent), he still had a proper base, while Ked did not. Attacking him in skool, while he was away from the defenses, would also fail, as both Irkens were held back by the presence of humans. Perhaps he could use that large-headed human – Dib, was it? – to get Zim somehow — Dib didn't seem like the type that would heed his warning.

Ked was jolted out of his thoughts when a plasma blast caused the roof to cave in. Ked jumped out of the way and looked up to see Zim's Voot Cruiser hovering there. Zim's voice blared over the speakers. "You want a fight, Ked? Come and get it!" Ked instantly jumped into his own ship and lifted off. Zim responded by pulling up and heading away. Ked followed, firing his lasers, which Zim dodged with ease, all the while heading up.

"What's wrong, Zim?" Ked shouted. "You running away again? Too cowardly to face me head to head?"

Normally, this would have made Zim furious, but he had expected this from Ked and so was able to suppress it. "No, I'm just taking this fight where no humans can see."

The two Irkens quickly made it into space, at which point Zim wheeled around and fired two plasma blasts at Ked, who responded by blasting the energy balls with his ship's lasers. Zim spiraled up and around and fired again, but Ked dodged the blasts and responded with his lasers. Zim pulled to the left and moved up again, seemingly to get a better angle, and fired his own lasers, followed by a plasma blast. Ked responded by pulling his ship into a barrel roll and moving up, around, and behind Zim, who pulled his Cruiser into a tight spiral around Ked's ship. The two ships spiraled around each other, firing their lasers repeatedly. Finally, Zim suddenly halted. Ked quickly pulled his ship up to face Zim's.

"What's wrong Zim? Giving up already?" Ked sneered.

The look in Zim's eyes was maniacal, and his grin matched. "No, Ked. On the contrary…" Zim's finger hovered over a button on the dashboard. "I have you just where I want you." Zim's finger came down on the button, and a swirling vortex opened up behind Ked. Ked was too shocked to react to Zim's next move – a laser blast struck his ship and knocked him back into the vortex. "So long, Ked…" Zim said darkly, before turning around and heading back for Earth.

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Ked screamed as his ship was pulled through the wormhole. He had fallen in backwards, and there was no way to turn around in a wormhole, which meant he had no way to see where he was going. After a minute, there was a bright flash, and Ked felt his ship crash into something. He climbed out of the wrecked ship and looked around. He was in a bright white room, with seemingly no entrance or exit. He turned to look at his ship. It was heavily damaged, but nothing he couldn't fix. "Zim…" he muttered. "You thought you could get rid of me here…you can't. I _will_ fix my ship, and escape from here, and, and…heh, eh, what's that?" A shadow had fallen over him. A strange snorting sound rang out, causing Ked to stiffen. He turned around slowly and came face to face with the biggest moose ever. Ked's screams of anguish echoed across the entire moose-room as Zim, heading back to Earth in his Cruiser (back in our universe) grinned.

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Later, on the Massive, the Tallest once again looked down on Zak. "Perfect Invader Zak," said Red, "your training and tests are complete, and the project was a complete success. And so, you have just been officially added to the Invader Database."

Purple nodded. "Your Customized Information Retrieval Unit, or CIR, has also just been completed. As requested, it will be called 'Xad'. It will be waiting for you in your ship."

Zak nodded, and was about to request the details for his first mission when he was cut off by the buzzer that indicated a call from Zim. The Tallest groaned (despite Zim's success at passing Zak's training, and his subsequent reinstatement as an Invader and pardon, they still hated him) and put the call up on the view screen.

"Ah, my Tallest. And Perfect Invader Zak, what a surprise. My tallest, I just want to report that I have rid this universe of Ked. He came after me so I sent him to The ROOM with the MOOSE!" Zim struck a dramatic pose. "Anyway, the mission is back on track and I should have the humans underneath my iron fist very shortly. Well, I have to get started so, Invader Zim, signing off!"

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A/N: That's the last chapter of Part 2. Part 3 should be coming someday soon.


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